UH's long-awaited NCAA return begins against Maryland

UH's mad men march WestCougars get No. 13 seed, will take on fourth-seeded Maryland in first round Friday

STEVE CAMPBELL, Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Monday, March 15, 2010

Photo: Julio Cortez, Chronicle

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The Cougars have been seeded 13th in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.

The Cougars have been seeded 13th in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.

Photo: Julio Cortez, Chronicle

UH's long-awaited NCAA return begins against Maryland

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Renu Khator threw a small watch party at her home Saturday, fervently hoping her favorite basketball team could bring home a Conference USA championship. When Houston Cougars guard Kelvin Lewis hit a 3-pointer with 3:15 remaining to put his team ahead for good, Khator felt compelled to reach out to her entire cat-stituency.

“Final 3 minutes and leading by 1 point — send your positive energy to fighting Cougars,” wrote the woman who goes by the Twitter handle of UHpres.

“I was hyperventilating,” Khator said. “I was so excited.”

Within five minutes of an 81-73 victory that punched UH's first NCAA Tournament ticket in 18 years, Khator fired off a congratulatory text message to coach Tom Penders. At a UH tournament-draw party Sunday night, Khator told Penders of a post-game moment that nearly took her breath away.

“I was afraid when you were climbing the ladder (to cut down the net),” Khator said. “I said, ‘Hold on. Hold on.' It was beautiful. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of the team.”

The Cougars (19-15) are seeded 13th in the Midwest Regional and will face the Maryland Terrapins (23-8) in the first round on Friday (30 minutes after the end of the 6:20 p.m. Michigan State-New Mexico State game) in Spokane, Wash. C-USA's seventh-place team during the regular season picked the perfect time to put together its first four-game winning streak of the season.

“I believe proving people wrong is the most enjoyable part of being a coach, other than your interaction with your players and the things you share and watching them grow,” Penders said. “These guys will be friends for life. I'll guarantee it. They'll be part of the university when they graduate. They'll come back.”

‘A long time coming'

Penders, 64, said that by the time he got on the team bus after Saturday's game, he had a dozen messages waiting from players he coached at his first college stop — Tufts. Perhaps the most notable person celebrating on Sunday was Guy V. Lewis, the legendary UH coach who led the school to five Final Fours.

“It's been a long time coming,” said Kelvin Lewis, who scored 28 points in the title game and was the tournament Most Valuable Player. “We're ready to go out there and show Houston what we've got and show the school some love.”

Like Penders, Maryland coach Gary Williams has 648 career victories. Unlike Penders, Williams coaches a school that is in a marquee conference (Atlantic Coast). Williams coached Maryland to the 2002 national title.

“We'll be a huge underdog,” said UH guard Aubrey Coleman, the nation's leading scorer. “Everybody is going to pick Maryland to win it. That's what we want. We're going to play our hearts out, like we always do.”

Playing loose

The Cougars, in other words, will try to build on the Dead-Men-Walking theme that Penders laid out at the beginning of the C-USA Tournament. The premise: Nobody is more dangerous than the person who figures he's as good as dead and has nothing to lose.

“We couldn't play nervous, or we wouldn't have done what we did,” Coleman said. “We're not ranked No. 1 in the nation. We don't have high standards. We just go out and have fun and smile and play.”

UH hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1984, the final year of Phi Slama Jama. None of the current UH players was alive then. Penders was four years away from coaching a team into the NCAAs for the first time.

“I love the underdog role,” UH guard Adam Brown said. “Shock the world. You're doing it for yourself, and nobody else believes in you. I love nobody expecting us to win, so we can just prove them wrong.

“Now we have a chance to make our mark in history. That's what it's all about: Making a mark in history.”

Khator told Penders she stayed home for the C-USA tournament because she “didn't want to jinx” anything. She said she'll remain at home for the first two rounds.

“Here is the deal: You get to the Sweet 16, and I'm coming,” Khator said. “You all take care of the small stuff. I'm coming for the big one.”